Let's Play Pretend
by OTESlife
Summary: McCoy pretends to be Uhura's fiance, so that she doesn't have to get married to the man her parents set her up with and not quit Starfleet. Feelings become stronger as they learn more about each other. Will their plan work?
1. Taking a Risk

The glow of Nyota's computer screen illuminated on her face. It was the tenth time within the last two months that her mother would call her to plan of her daughter's wedding for when she came back to Earth. Nyota was to be wed to the infamous Tau Morris, the man who she was arranged to wed since she was child. He is the son of a big business man back in Africa. Her father and his father had worked together for years in the mining industry and had planned by the age of consent for both their children to be wed. To Nyota, Tau became arrogant and selfish as she grew up with him during her teenage years. His money became his power and that was something she never wanted to be involved with. In less than a month or so she will be forced to marry someone she didn't love and forced to quit the one thing she could ever love, Starfleet.

There was no way to get out of this, like before she was able to stall some years since going to Starfleet Academy, but now this was the time. She had begged and pleaded with her father that she did not wish to marry, but he ignored her request. He would explain that her family had been doing arranged marriages for over ten generations and that it would honor their ancestors if she continued the tradition. She never understood how her other siblings could do it. Being the youngest of three children, this was something that many of her family members had been anticipating. As optimistic as Nyota was always was, she didn't think that this time she would escape. She would be back home stuck birthing babies and feeling trapped. Her mothers voice seem to cause her headaches as she non-stopped explained all the wedding procedures. Every call that she got from her mother served as a stabbing reminder that she was going to be miserable for the rest of her life, that all the hard working years at Starfleet and the Enterprise were going to disappear in just a coupe of simple words 'I do". Biting her tongue, she tried her best not scream, but if another word of Tau and the stupid wedding came up she was going to burst. Again and again his name came from her mother's lips and it felt like poison. She knew that later on this week she will call again and drive her into insanity Finally the button had been pressed and Nyota snapped.

"Mother, I am engaged to someone else!" Nyota's voice rose stopping her mother in mid-sentence. She had lied to her mother, she was not engaged, but maybe this would stop everything. She didn't know what caused her to say such a thing, but maybe she had something going for her. Such a reckless plan and totally out of her character, but it would give her some time to think. Her mother was of course speechless, but still needed to know what her daughter was talking about.

"Nyota, what do you mean engaged to someone else?"

"That's what I mean, I am marrying someone who is not Tau. I have to go and guess we can talk about this later." Without a formal goodbye to her mother, she disconnected her link. Sitting with a pounding headache, she couldn't believe that she just dug herself into a worst situation. For now she needed to think of plan before she had to talk to her mother again.

48 Days Later…

The Enterprise had finally ended her five year mission and had successfully docked at the space station that hovered over Earth. Many of the crew members were sad to be leaving their home, but many were excited to see their family members back on the planet below. Much work was needed to be done before anyone could leave. Final reports were to be made, crew members had to clean their quarters and having a final check up with Doctor McCoy to make sure that no one was bringing home a parasite. For Nyota she sat at her station confirming reports before briefing to the Captain. Among the many members of the crew, the crew on the bridge were the last to leave. She had glanced at the room to take in all the crazy moments she had there. She eyed the spot where she first had confirmed the details of the Klington attack by Nero years ago, then she looked to the control board where Sulu and Chekov sat. She remembered when Kirk and Spock fought and Kirk being slammed into the panels. Then she looked at Kirk's chair. He was sitting in it with his back turned to her while reading PADDs. She gave a small smile when she saw Kirk sitting. He had came a long way of maturing in some ways. Not in a million of years would she think that he would be commanding her. Oddly enough she was going to miss him and everyone else. A small tear formed in the corner of her eye. Kirk had turned around to look at her, like he had sensed the forming tear. When she had realized that she and her Kirk made eye contact she quickly turn back to her post and wiped the tear away. She heard footsteps come from behind her followed by a gentle touch on her shoulder.

"You alright there Lieutenant?" Kirk asked in her ear.

"I'm fine." She replied trying to keep calm.

"You sure? I swore I just saw you get a little emotional."

"Sir, I do not let my feeling get caught up in my work." Kirk leaned against the panel where she had been working.

"I'm gonna miss you Uhura. I mean I will see you in the next six to eight months before we go off again another mission. I really would like to keep you here on my team. You are the best damn linguist that I've ever met." His comment made her hurt inside again. She was asset to a ship, something valuable, but now she was going to be shipped away, never going to use her talents again. She gave him a weak smile.

"I really appreciate that Kirk. It's always an honor to serve with you."

"Good. A bunch of us will be meeting at the bar in the station for a couple rounds of drinks before everyone sets off to different areas. Would you like to join us? It would be great to see you there."

"Sure I will come. I think a drink or two is something I will need."

Finally she was done with her work and finished packing her belongings. A moving service had sent to her belongs to her home back in South Africa. She still had not talked to her mother since she had claimed that she was engaged. She ran out of ideas of what to do, she was beginning to face the reality. This might be the last time that she was going to see her Enterprise family. She had packed some of her clothing in a personal bag so that she had something to change into before returning to Earth. She said goodbye to her room and walked down the empty halls to the shuttle crafts. She tried her best to keep it together, she never liked for people to see her cry. Once inside the shuttle craft she looked outside the window to see the Enterprise's body shine in space. Her whole life was gone.

She had made it through the station's halls to where she was going to meet her friends. The bar was nearly filled with officer's and service workers enjoying the happy hour. In the booth in the back she could see Kirk waving for her to come over. When approaching the booth she saw Kirk, Scotty, Spock, Sulu and Chekov squeezed into a tiny booth with drinks in hand. She slid in the end and took a menu that Kirk handed her.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show up." Kirk said with almost a drunken voice, but not plastered.

"I know. I had more packing than I expected." She replied looking at her menu. Looking up for a moment she had noticed that a familiar face was not present. "Where is Doctor McCoy? I know he wouldn't pass up a drink."

"He's talking to his ex-wife on the computers in the lobby. He will be back." Kirk replied. When something caught his eye, he gave a smile. "Well speaking of the devil himself." McCoy walked over with his usual frown on his face, the look of being the cranky doctor that he was. He sat next to Jim and ran his fingers through his untamed hair. She dared to ask what was wrong, but Kirk asked first.

"Bones, what's wrong?"

"Ugh…It's Jocelyn! She decides to tell me as of today that she, my daughter and her precious new husband went on vacation and won't be back in a two months. We talked about this a hundred times. Before we came back I was suppose to get Joanna for the remainder of our leave. I swear I think I married the devil sometimes."

"I'm sorry that she did this to you." Nyota spoke up. McCoy raised his eyebrow, he did not expect for her to be there.

"Don't be sorry for me, its not your fault." He replied.

"Aye Doctor, go get yerself a scotch and join us. All yer cares will melt away." Scotty said while raising his glass.

"That's the best damn thing I heard all day. If you excuse me I'm gonna go the bar." McCoy moved from his seat.

"I'll go with you." Nyota stood up as well and went to the bar with him. The bar was crowded, but somehow they managed to move through the people.

"Hey Uhura, tell me what you want. I will put it on my tab, it doesn't make sense for both of us to stand in a crowded line." McCoy said.

"Are you sure? You don't have to pay for me."

"Too late, tell me what you want."

"Get me a two shots of Jack." The look on his face was priceless. He looked shocked that she would order something like that.

"Now you're my kind of lady." He smiled. "I will get our drinks, you can go back to the table." When she started to move through the crowd a voice called her from behind.

"Nyota is that you?" A voice of woman asked. The voice was too familiar, but she couldn't pin point who it was. Turning around she was quickly greeted with a hug. The woman was much older than her by a twenty years and had the most golden hue of skin that she had seen. Then she remembered. Temba Tale was her name. She was a family friend. She was lucky enough to join Starfleet after she got married, which explained why she was on the station.

"Temba what are you doing here?" Nyota asked.

"I work in the station now as an engineer with my husband."

"That's great. How have you been?"

"Great! I've been working too hard these days. I really hoped you enjoyed your five year trip."

"Of course, it was a dream come true."

"Oh dear! I can't believe I am forgetting to ask you. So who is the lucky man in your life?" Nyota's heart leaped. Her mother must of told everyone that she was engaged.

"Excuse me?" She replied.

"Your aunt told me that you were engaged to someone who was not that Tau fellow." Sweat started to rolled down her back as she was confronted by her terrible lie. She couldn't make up a name because then she would want to meet him. She might as well just tell her that she was not really engaged. A gentle nudge against her arm through her off. When looking over she saw McCoy handing her her drinks.

"Here you go darlin'." When placing the drinks in her hands, she had the craziest idea ever.

"Um…Leonard, meet a family friend. Her name is Temba Tale." McCoy gave a nod since he could not shake hands with her due to the many drinks in his hands. "Temba, meet Dr. Leonard McCoy, my fiancé."

"WHAT!" He shouted. Everyone in the bar had stopped what they were doing and focused on the group.

"He's just kidding. He's like that sometimes." Nyota laughed nervously. She made eye contact with him hoping that he would just play along. He seemed to get the hint, but still looked confused.

"Um excuse me I need to speak with my fiancé for a moment." He said calmly to Temba. Pulling Nyota to the side, he tried to keep his voice low. "Just because I buy you a drink does not mean we are engaged."

"I know, I know. It's a long story. Can you just play along with me until she leaves?"

"Fine." He sighed heavily. Turning back around they met up with Temba who was very confused.

"Is everything ok?" She asked.

"Yeah, um it's just that we were not ready to tell everyone yet that we were getting married. Just surprised that my mother told everyone."

"Well you know your mother. Now tell me how did you meet?" The two looked at each other.

"Uh…we met back at the academy. We had many classes together, studied a lot together as well." He said.

"That's so sweet, but you have no engagement ring." Temba pointed out.

"That's because the ring I got for her originally was too big, so we are going to wait until we get back to the planet to get it resized." He said. She smiled to herself, he was playing the role too well.

"Well I hope you two live long and well together. I would love to stay and chat, but I need to get back to work. I hope I get a wedding invite."

"Of course." Nyota smiled.

"It was nice meeting you Leonard and Nyota take care." Temba gave them both hugs and exited the bar. Turning to him she laughed softly.

"I don't get what's funny. What was that all about? Actually I don't want to know." He turned and went back to the booth mumbling something under his breath. The idea that was brewing in her head was a risky one hopefully it would work with careful planning. The only thing that was standing in her way was his will to play along.

**A/N:What do you think of the first chapter? Yay or Nay?**


	2. Big Favor

McCoy, Kirk and Uhura were the lasts one to leave the bar from their small group. McCoy looked sober enough to walk straight, but Kirk had stumbled a few times when leaving. Uhura and McCoy helped Kirk to his room where he planned to stay for the night. When dumping him on his back on the bed she felt kind of sad that she couldn't say bye to Kirk the proper way. Hopefully this wasn't going to be the last time she would see him. The two left the room and proceeded through the halls.

"Thanks for helping me carry him to his room." McCoy said.

"Oh no problem. So when are you leaving for home?" She asked trying to lead to her plan.

"Well since I can't get my kid I guess…well hell I don't know. I guess I might as well get that apartment back in Georgia that I wanted to get, but I didn't plan to spend this time by myself."

"What if you didn't have to spend it by yourself?"

"What are you getting at?" He cocked his eyebrow.

"I need the biggest favor from you. Come with me back to Africa and pretend to be my fiancé."

"Excuse me, but what?"

"Come with me to Africa and convince my family that we are getting married."

"This is the most craziest thing I've ever heard from you. One, we are not getting married and two why would you do that to your family?"

"Because…please, I'm in this really bad situation and I need your help. My career and sanity is on the line. I will do anything for you in return."

"I don't think you can do anything for me."

"Oh come on, what kind of man denies a woman when she says she will do anything? I'll pay for the apartment, the first three two months in return." He sighed deeply.

"I can't let you do that. The place is 900 credit a month."

"I can pay it."

"What about me seeing my daughter?" He was not making this easy for her.

"You said that she won't be coming back for long time. By then my plan will work and you can go see her when we are done."

"What is your plan exactly?"

"You just come meet my family, we pretend to be a happy couple, we stay with them for awhile and then you leave to see your daughter, by then we will be going back to service and we can forget about the whole thing."

"What is the purpose of this?"

"I'm suppose to get married to this guy through an arranged slash almost forced marriage. If I marry him I will have to quit Starfleet because he won't let me live my life away from Africa. I know that I cannot marry him, if I am marrying some else. Please…you are the only one who can help." He was quiet for a moment, probably thinking a 100 reasons on why not to do it, he finally gave his answer.

"Alright, I'll do it, but you owe me big time missy." He grunted. She wrapped her arms around his waist for a hug

"You are the greatest! The shuttle leaves at noon tomorrow. At 9 we can have breakfast together."

"Whatever you say captain."

Before going to bed in the stations visitors center, she needed to call home before leaving. She had to tell her family that she was coming home and coming home with a guy. Taking in a deep breath she pressed the code for her home at the telecom monitors. Within a few a minutes the face of her older sister Nyah came on the screen. It had been such a long time since she had seen her sister that she almost didn't recognize her without her usual long hair. It was now a pixie cut hairstyle and dyed a light brown. Nyah's face lit up immediately.

"Ny! My baby sister, where have you've been?"

"I've been so busy, I miss you."

"Too busy not to call me?"

"Sorry, I've been out of contact with you all."

"Yeah! Everyone is losing their minds because you are engaged to someone else. Tau and his family are really upset. Papa is over here pulling his hair out. Ny, what is going on? This is not like you to go and get engaged to someone and not tell us."

"I know, I have to explain later. I just wanted to tell you that I'm at the Starfleet space station. I should reach Africa around three tomorrow. Plus I wanted to prepare you guys, but my fiancé is coming with me to meet you all."

"WHAT!" Nyah yelped. "Papa is going to murder him and you too!"

"That's why your going to tell mom that I am bringing him, so that she can calm him down."

"Ok I'll do it, but we have some talking to do when you get here."

"Fine I see you tomorrow, I love you."

"Love you too."

The morning seemed to come too quick. Quicker than she wanted it to. She tried to sleep, but frequent dreams disrupted her sleep. Looking at the clock on her dresser she saw that it was 8:15. She had enough time to grab a quick shower, pack up her things and meet McCoy for breakfast. She hopped in the shower, shaved her legs and dried her body. She got dressed in her grey skirt and white short sleeve blouse. Instead of wearing her usual boots she put on her black pump heels. After putting her things in her bag, she had checked to make sure wasn't leaving anything before leaving the room. She went down to the dinning hall where it was not crowded and easily spot McCoy sitting at a table. When she met up with him she was shocked that he looked slightly different than last night. He was cleaned shaved, hair neatly trimmed and looked refreshed. He wore a light green button down shirt and brown slacks.

"Morning, don't you look quite handsome today." Her tone was flirty. The compliment made him grin.

"Always have to look presentable in front of a lady and her parents." He stood up immediately from his seat, went to hers and pulled it out for her to sit. She sat in the seat then he took his. She was never used to treatment like that from a man.

"Thank you Leonard."

"Might I say you look nice this morning as well."

"Ok why are you extra nice to me this morning?"

"Maybe its my southern mannerisms."

"Aren't I ever nice?"

"You have your days." She said jokingly. The waiter came to their table and took their orders. She ordered veggie omelet while he ordered a tall stack of pan cakes. The waiter left to the kitchen to ready the orders." We need to get acquainted if we want to get this plan to go well."

"Alright…uh where do we start?"

" What do you know about me? Just curious." She bit her lip.

"You are 27 years old born in Africa. You are allergic to any kind of shell fish and nuts, you are very intelligent from our last IQ test and you like to sing."

"From your doctor notes I assume?"

"That's what I get for being your doctor and plus I watched you sing in the chorale club back in the academy."

"Good job that you know more about my body than most people. Let's see what I know about you…" She thought for a moment, but she couldn't come up with anything. All the times that they had talked back on the Enterprise she couldn't remember any of their discussions. "The only thing I know is you're a doctor, divorced and have a daughter."

"That's pretty much it. I am 37 years old born in Atlanta, Georgia. My daughter is 13 years old, I married Satan himself, I went to Mississippi University for college to study medicine, joined Starfleet when I was about 28 and then became CMO of the Enterprise."

"Ok. That's a start. Any hobbies?"

"If I had anytime for anything I would say hiking. I like the outdoors, I'm kind of a camping guy."

"What about your family?"

"What about them? Nothing special there. Two people fell in love and created me." He rushed his sentence so fast that it took her a moment to process what he had said. Obviously he didn't want to talk about his parents.

"Well then I will just tell you about mine. Let me give you the run down of who my family is. Njeri is my mother's name. She's really kind, understanding and loving. I think she may be the easiest person to get along with. Nyah is my older sisters name. She's really nosy and might ask you personal questions, but don't take anything she says personal. Also she is married with two kids. Malik Jr. is the oldest brother of my sister and me. He is really quiet at times, but if you talk to him about business then you will never leave the conversation. He is also married, but with six kids."

"Six kids!" He said in disbelief. "Your family likes having kids I see."

"Its more of a competition than anything. Its surprising that my parents stopped after me. Let me tell you about my father he's the important one. My papa is Malik senior. First off, my dad is going to hate you."

"Well that makes me nervous."

"Sorry, he's not really happy that I am 'engaged'. He's a very hard person to get along with sometimes, stubborn, but I think you can crack him open."

"Hope he won't have a phaser pointing to my head when I walk through the door. I'm a dad, I know how dad's work."

"He won't. I told my family that you were coming, so that will give time for my mom to calm him down. Just stick with me and everything should be fine."

The two went to the departure terminal for their shuttle. When entering the shuttle, they had picked seats toward the back, away from the crowed areas. Placing their luggage under their seats, Nyota had noticed that McCoy seem shaky or really hesitant about something when they sat down. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he looked at her.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just don't like these things. I always don't feel safe in a flying, compressed metal tube in space."

"Don't worry these things are safe. If you can handle a starship, you can handle anything.

"Don't pander to me kid, one tiny crack in the hull and we're dead."

"I think you are putting too much thought in it. We've almost been sucked into a black hole for pete's sake and survived." She said assuring that they had been in worst situations. The shuttle's pilot signaled its passengers that they were preparing for lift off. Shortly after the shuttle pushed itself from the ground and moved through the station's take off area. The sudden altitude change caused the shuttle to jerk causing McCoy to grip the arms of his chair. Nyota jumped when his sweaty palms held onto her hand in a tight grip. After the short burst was over his breathing became more relaxed. "Uh Leonard…my hand." She said softly. He looked down to see his large hand crushing hers. He quickly moved his hand away

"Sorry about that."

**A/N: Hope that you like it so far. Actually the idea for this story came from something I lived through. I dated a guy who his parents were going to do the arranged marriage thing to him. We dated secretly, so there are some truths to this story. In the long run when we broke he was forced to marry a girl from his country. You are going to have to stay turned to see Nyota's outcome.**


	3. Welcome Home

McCoy and Uhura arrived in Cape Town, South Africa around three in the afternoon. She was hoping that none of her family members would be their to greet them for they still had some planning to do. They had walked through the shuttle station looking for an area to call in a taxi. In the distance an elderly black man in a nice black suit caught her eye. He had been holding a sign with her last name on it high over his head. Her last name was not a common name in the city, she knew instantly that her family must of sent a private driver to pick them up.

"Well it looks like we have transportation. That man must be waiting for us." She said.

"Lead the way." They walked over to the old man. Nyota greeted him in her native language and he replied which a smile. She looked to McCoy and introduced him to the elderly man.

"Leonard this is one of my parents private drivers, he will be taking us to my home."

"Nice to meet you sir." Leonard said.

"Please follow me." The older man said in broken English. The older man lead them through the stations busy halls and to the outdoors. It had been almost six years since she had last stepped on African soil. Besides all of the chaos with her family, she really did miss home. She missed the warm days, going to the beach and the buzzing culture. Hopefully those things will help her keep her sanity while she was on this trip. Looking to Leonard he seemed to be keeping his cool about the situation. He looked around in every direction to see what was going on.

"First time in Africa?"

"Yes, very beautiful place. Sure different than Georgia. Hey I noticed that you and the driver were speaking in a different language. Will I be able to understand anything here?"

"Don't worry there are a ton of english speakers here. You may need some translations of things, but it won't be too hard." They reached a large parking lot where buses and limos were parked. They walked to an all white limo that was parked in the main area. The elderly man took their bags, placed them in a trunk and opened the doors for them to enter. She looked back to see McCoy's reaction to the limo.

"I see we get to ride in style. Why are we in a limo instead of taxi?"

"My family likes to do things big I guess. We have an half hour drive until we get to my home, so we can do more talking. I hope you are not nervous."

"Not really. I just hope this works, for your sake."

The two talked some more about each other on the ride. To her surprise he was a more calmer person than he lead on to be. Back on the Enterprise he seem cranky or tense every second, swearing Jim's name every moment and kept things to himself. She talked to him at times mainly when she had a checkup or someone to talk to during dinner. He never opened up like he did now. She learned more about him within the last few hours than she had the whole time serving with each other. She would of considered being close friends with him if she knew that he was like this. She was impressed by certain thoughts and ideas he had about intergalactic problems that they came across on their journey. She was also happy to hear that they had more things in common such as helping others and making the universe a better place. It kind of made her blush when every time he called her darlin', but that was due to his southern charm. He wasn't a bad looking man nor prince charming, but still had some appeal to her. She really hoped that her family wouldn't eat him alive because he was doing her a big favor.

Looking out the windows her heart began to beat fast as she started to notice the area. Every winding turn the limo made her sick. Not because of motion sickness but she remembered that once after the big turns they would see the property.

"This is a really nice looking area. Looks like someone famous should be living here." He said awe struck from the marvelous views. The car started to slow down as they approached large steel gates. "Does your family live in some private gated community?"

"Something like that." She replied nervously. The limo pulled through the gate and onto the long drive. She saw her home of since she was a child coming into a closer view. It was much different from the last time she saw it. The almost mansion like home sat on one acre of land and a view of the ocean. Many of the bedrooms that had balconies that faced all areas of the house, a large sculpture of woman sat in the yard shooting out water and colorful exotic flowers bloomed all over. McCoy gasped and had a wide eye look on his face.

"When were you going to tell me that you were rich?" He said in disbelief.

"I'm not rich, my parents are. Didn't want to freak you out that my parents had tons of money. My dad owns a small diamond mining company that's an hour from here."

"Great now they will probably hate me now."

"They won't. Just be yourself, how can they hate you?" The old man stopped the car and opened the door for them. They stepped out and grabbed their belongings from the back, said goodbye to the driver and proceeded to the front door. She took a big sigh and stepped through the front door. The foyer was nicely decorated with African art that her mother loved collecting and animal printed rugs. The smell of food filled her lungs making her stomach growled. The sound of footsteps came toward them and the sight of a older woman made Nyota drop her bag.

"Nyota!" The voice called. It was her mother who looked to much like her. She wore a purple silk tunic and black pants. Her hair was long and straight, just like her daughter.

"Mama!" She called. Running to her arms she hugged her deeply. The smell of her mothers perfume brought her back to all of the memories she once had. Seeing her mother in person was a million times better than seeing her on a computer screen any day.

"My girl, I've missed you so much. Look you are so skinny now, they do not feed you enough on that starship."

"I've always been this way. You just haven't seen me in such a long time." Nyota smiled. She almost forgot about McCoy who was standing waiting to meet her mom. "I have someone for you to meet." Her mother cocked her head slightly when she saw him standing there, but then gave a friendly smile. "Mom this is Leonard McCoy, my fiancé. Leonard this is my mother, Njeri Uhura." Leonard extended his hand out to greet her and then braced her for a hug.

"It is an honor to meet you finally." He said.

"Same here, but it was rather a shock to find out that my daughter was engaged in such a short notice, but happy that she found someone that makes her happy. She never told me that she was marring someone handsome such as yourself."

"Well thank you ma'am and thank you for letting me come to your home. I think I'm liking this place already."

"Nyota, you two can sleep in your old bedroom. The guest bedrooms are going to be occupied."

"What for?"

"For the engagement party for you and Leonard. Some of the family is coming over to stay the night."

"A party? Why are we having a party?"

"To celebrate. it's a blessing to have someone join our family. Now go take your belongings to the bedroom, your father and sister should be on their way here from a charity benefit. Come down to the kitchen when you are done."

"Come on dear lets go see my bedroom." Nyota grinned. They picked up their belonging and proceeded through a large white hallway filled with photos of the Uhura family. They went up a spiral stair case to the second level where they found another hallway. They went into a room that was almost a master bedroom size. It was her room. It was like she had left the room like it was the day she left home. Still she had her favorite red blankets and black décor.

"This is your bedroom? Talking about a teenagers paradise. You have a bathroom and balcony in your room!" He moved toward the double doors and opened them up to reveal the small balcony. The view was still what she remembered. "Your backyard is the beach!"

"Yeah, I love sitting out here and sing. Boy it feels good to be home."

"I would never take you to be the rich girl. What a big shock this is."

"There is a lot to still learn then." She took a seat on her bed. "I think you are the first boy to set foot in my bedroom."

"I feel honored." His eyes moved to the bed. "Is it safe to assume that we are sharing the bed?"

"As long as you keep your hands to yourself then we won't have any problems." She smiled. "Come, let me show you the rest of the house." She showed him every room of the house. Every corner of the house had a memory to it. She could vividly replay those memories in her head as she passed by a certain area. From her father's office to the large backyard with a pool, she managed to show him every room of the house. They had saved the kitchen for the last stop and the more than likely place where Nyota's mother was. The kitchen was crowed with five chefs, platters of finger foods, sandwiches and desserts took over any open space. Her mother moved over to the confused couple.

"Are you kids hungry? I can prep you a quick lunch." Her mother asked. They both shook their heads.

"Mom, how many people are coming to this party?"

"Let's see…your grandmother, aunt's, uncle's, cousins, at least over fifty."

"Over fifty! Mom this is really unnecessary."

"It's the celebration of your engagement and also your safe return from the service. It's a special day.

"But mom-" She began to say something, but the touch of two hands touched her back.

"Come one Nyota let your folks throw this party. Its for us and I think we should just accept it. Just think, it's a chance for me to meet your family." McCoy said.

"Your right. We are just going to go with the flow. Well you said that Grand ma maw will be here. I am really excited to see her. Remember me telling you about my grandmother right hon?"

"Of course I do. You talked about how much you loved her. I can't wait to meet her as well."

"You two should relax before everyone comes. I have the decorators coming at four to set up the backyard, so don't backyard. I want it to be a surprise." The door to the kitchen opened suddenly with a woman with short hair and yellow sundress.

"Nyah!" Nyota screeched.

"Ny bear!" Nyah shouted back. The two sisters embraced each other quickly in a tight hug. "I'm so happy that you are home. Oh my gosh where is he?" Nyota smiled and looked back McCoy who gave an awkward smile to her.

"Leonard, this is my lovely sister Nyah. Nyah meet Leonard." Nyah exchanged an awkward smile back.

"Nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you." He said.

"And I've heard nothing about you." Nyah replied.

"Nyah!" Nyota snapped. "Sorry she's like that."

"No apologies. She right, she doesn't know anything about me, but I hope my time being here will change that."

"Where's papa? Mom said he was with you."

"He dropped me off here and said that he had some business to take care of first before the party. Then he has to pick up Grand ma maw. He won't be here until the start of the party."

"I wish that he came in at least and say hi, but if he was in a rush then oh well. Where is Jamal and the kids?"

"Kids are still in school and Jamal is at work. You didn't hear the good news, but I'm pregnant again. Found out last month."

"Wow more kids, that's great." Nyota have a fake smile. She loved being an aunt, but she knew that she was competing against her family.

"Yeah I have to catch up with Malik and you need to the same."

"Well whenever the time is right, I'm sure we will be having our own little bundle of joy.

"What about you Leonard? Do you like kids?"

"Yes I like kids. I have a daughter of my own from a previous marriage."

"Oh I see, so your letting Ny play step mommy first. How did the marriage end?"

"Come on now! Stop it." Nyota snapped.

"What? I was just asking him a question."

"Nyah your sister right, no more personal questions! Now do you all have something to wear for tonight?" Her mother asked.

"I didn't bring a lot of nice dress clothes. Wasn't expecting any parties." McCoy said.

"Oh dear let me take you to the store to get you a nice suit." Their mother grabbed her purse from the counter.

"Mrs. Uhura you don't have to do that."

"I insist. It will be a gift to you. Girls you can get ready, while Leonard and I will be looking for suit for him."

"Why don't I go with you guys?" Nyota really didn't want to leave him alone.

"No, we have catching up to do. We will see you later." Nyah said when pulling her sisters hand. McCoy moved over to Nytoa, closer than she expected. His head bent down toward her face and planted a quick kiss on her forehead. He pulled away with a half smile on his face.

"Go enjoy your time with your sister, I'll be back." He said.

"Yeah." She sighed.

* * *

The kiss kept invading her mind like a movie scene that played over and over. Showing affection is a requirement when two people are in a relationship is a no brainier. Then why was is bother her? It made sense that he did that. He was just acting.

"Hey there are you still with me?" Nyah asked. Nyota had not been paying attention to her sister since they made it upstairs.

"Sorry, I was thinking of something."

"Anyways, dad has been cursing up a storm since mom had told him about you. The only reason why he's not coming until the party is because he felt like he was going to lose it."

"I don't see what the big deal is? Is it a problem that I'm getting married or that I am not getting married to Tau." Nyah shrugged her shoulders. "Tau is not the best person in the world you know. He's arrogant, cocky, power hungry and the list goes on."

"But he own his own business, very successful and has money."

"Please, he's one big turn off. I knew I was going to be set up with him since I was teenager."

"So is that why you are engaged? To avoid marrying Tau?" Nyota hated this about her. She maybe annoying but she is very smart.

"No, I'm marrying him because I love Leonard. Why do you have doubts about our relationship?"

"Because you never told anyone about him."

"I didn't say anything because I knew that the family would freak out."

"You know another reason why papa is upset? He thinks you are not proud of our culture. That arranged marriages are bad. He's going to freak when he sees that Leonard is not an African male at least."

"Love has no boundaries. I would never put down my heritage."

"I know, but he doesn't approve of interracial relationships. He believes that you should marry into your race to keep the heritage alive."

"I know papa is a traditionalist, but I'm sorry to brake traditions. I don't have to follow the rule of African girls must marry African boys and make babies all day. I have worked too hard to be where I am at."

"I guess. Well is the sex with him good at least?"

"You are ridiculous you know that."

"Answer my question."

"No, we have not yet. We wanted to wait until we got married."

"I just wanted to know if the rumors are true."

"What rumors?"

"You say he is a doctor. I heard that a doctor knows how hit the right spots on a woman."

"When I find out, I'll let you know."

**A/N: I'm sorry that if you hate the sister so far, but she is modeled off of someone I know. All the ppl besides Nyota and McCoy are based off of someone I know. You might think that its weird that the mother is starting to like McCoy, but there is a reason that will come up later.**


	4. The Party

**A/N: I feel so bad that I have not updated in a long time. So here you go, I will have another chapter up in a couple days or so. Thanks for reading and please review. I love to hear what you have to say. Another thing, anything in bold lettering is translation since we are in Africa at this point. Enjoy.**

Nyota was getting worried about Leonard. She was hoping that he was doing alright since they were never dating and know so little about each other. All she could do was pray and hope that this night goes well. She couldn't wait to get some sleep as well. Her previous night was filled of nightmares of everything going wrong. Until she was cleared to go back to the Enterprise then she cannot say that her plan was successful. The sound of the bedroom door opening causing her to look up. Leonard walked in with a large bag swung over his back and a another large bag in the other hand.

"Oh my gosh I hope everything went well." She said with panic in her voice.

"Everything is fine. I think your mother hasn't noticed that we are not even a couple." He placed his belongings on the bed.

"How did it go? I mean with the shopping."

"Your mother is too nice to me. She bought me three suits and two pairs of dress shoes. Your mom is every son-in-laws dream."

"Wow, I can't believe that she is taking a liking to you so well."

"I bet the real challenge is getting your father to accept me. Is he here yet?"

"No, not yet. I guess you better get ready for the party. People will start coming soon."

"Well I guess I get in the shower and get ready."

"Agreed. Do you mind if I look at the suits you got while you are in the shower?"

"Be my guest." He said when walking into the bathroom and closing the door. She moved toward the suits and opened each bag. Inside were expensive suits that would cost more than a term's worth of tuition at the academy. She found an all white suit with a light blue button down shirt. This one would be perfect for tonight since it matched her dress. She went to her vanity to do her hair and make up. She stared at her reflection for a moment. The thought of making McCoy pretend to be her fiancé was a low moment in her life, but anything was worth a try or she would be walking down the aisle tomorrow in a wedding gown marrying Tau. McCoy didn't have to say yes to this, putting his life on hold to help her was a nice thing for him to do. She definitely owed him. She picked up her brush and started to brush through her dark silky hair. She had rubbed olive oil lotion in her to help give a extra shine and more bounce. Next she applied her favorite eye liner and mascara on. The sound of the shower had stopped in the bathroom. She continued to do her make up until she saw McCoy from her mirror walk out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and body still wet. She hope he didn't know that he had caught her off guard. She didn't expect the doctor would have such amazing body. He had the lean, perfect posture and a small amount of fine black hairs on his chest. He went to his new clothing to see what he was going to wear.

"I think you should wear the white suit with the blue shirt. It will look great for tonight." She said trying to not stare at him.

"Yeah, I would have to agree on that one. I'll get dressed in the bathroom while you can pretty yourself up in here." He took his belongings and went back to the bathroom closing the door behind him. She took a deep sigh, trying to get the image of this wet body out of her head. She put on the white dress that her mother bought her a as a coming home gift. It was a cream colored dressed that came to above knees and flowed evenly. Putting on her white pumps, she glanced at herself in the mirror once more to make sure she looked good. Shortly after the bathroom door opened again and this time he was fully dressed in his suit. She stared taking in the sight, she never knew that this man could look so damn good. He seemed to be taken a back by the sight of her dress as well. "I can see why you wanted me to dress in the white suit. You look very …beautiful." He said.

"Thank you. You look great as well." She gave a him a smile.

"So what's the plan for tonight?"

"Stay close to each other at all times. Make up something if they ask."

"You better hope we don't get busted."

"Me too."

Leonard and Nyota went down stairs to the back yard where people where socializing with each other. She sighed in disbelief on how much work her mother had put in this party within a short notice. There was a private jazz band playing on one end of the yard, a large canopy made with lights hung over an installed dance floor and tables half way filled with guests. When they stepped on the path way, everyone seemed to stop what they were doing and look at them. They both received a gentle applause from the guests. Her stomach had filled up with nerves by all of the attention, she could only wonder how he was feeling. She smiled and waved to the crowed of people. Many were family members that she hasn't see in years to people who her parent might of known. A warm hand touched her shoulder causing her to turn around. It was her mother who was now dressed in a red dress and her hair in a updo.

"You look beautiful my malaika." Her mother kissed her on the cheek. Her mother turned to Leonard and kissed him on the cheek as well. "You look handsome. You two look amazing tonight."

"Well thank you ma'am." Leonard said.

"Mama, is papa here?"

"Yes, but he's in the office. He will be down shortly, but your grand-ma-maw is here."

"Good, I can't wait to find her."

"Nyota!" A deep voice from behind her called out. She turned to see her older brother Malik standing with his wife. Malik had darker skin than her, but the resemblance between the siblings were obvious.

"Malik!" Nyota yelped. His large arms hugged her. He had let go so that she could hug his wife. "My favorite sister in-law! I'm happy to see you both."

"So where is this man that you will be marrying Nyota?" Her brother asked. She turned to Leonard who was behind her.

"You guys, this is my fiancé Dr. Leonard McCoy." She said. Malik seemed a bit hesitant to say hello, but he did.

"Hello Leonard, it is nice to meet you. This is my wife Liyla."

"It's great to meet you both." McCoy said when shaking their hands.

"So Nyota let me see the ring." Malik's wife said.

"Um well I don't have one yet. The one that Leonard picked out for me was too big, so we decided that we will resize another time."

"He should get you one of the family diamonds." Malik said. "That would be special."

"Maybe I will." Leonard said.

"I hear that you and your wife have six kids. Where are they?" Leonard asked.

"They are inside with my sisters kids playing those damn, mindless video games." Malik said. "Obviously shooting a computer generated human is better than seeing their aunt."

"Its alright. I will catch them later. Well I'm going to take Leonard around to meet the rest of the family. I'll see you guys later." Nyota said. They had walked around the party introducing him to his family and friends. Suddenly a loud voice shouted. Nyota looked around and saw an elderly woman with a blue dress and cane walk across the yard. Nyota's eye welted up. "Grand ma-maw." Nyota went to her grandmother and hugged her tightly. Her grandmother was the closest person to her in the family besides her mother. She had always supported Nyota in everything she had did, even her choice to go to Starfleet.

"**My sweet girl. I am very grateful that you are home.**" Her grandmother kissed her on forehead.

"**Me too. I couldn't wait to see you.**"

"**And my girl found a man to marry?**"

"**Yes…I hope you approve of him because he is not African descendant.**"

"**Really?**" Nyota's lump in her throat grew hard. Even though her grandmother was a small woman, it didn't mean that she wasn't vicious. Leonard had approached the two woman.

"Leonard this is my grandmother that I have been telling you about."

"Hello, its really good to meet you." He said to her.

"She doesn't really understand much English. I will translate." She turned to her grandmother. "T**his is Dr. Leonard McCoy, my fiancé. He says that it is really nice to meet you.**" She looked to Leonard with a confused look then marched up to him. He took a couple steps back as she stood only to his chest.

"**You are marrying my granddaughter? Are you worthy to marry her?**" She said in some what angrily tone. He was very lost by what she was saying, but he could tell that it was not pleasant.

"Uh…why is she upset?" He asked Nyota. She shrugged her shoulders. Grand ma-maw began to circle Leonard, eying every feature he had. "Should I be nervous, because I am."

"Don't talk. She's trying to figure out if she likes you are not." Nyota said. Her grandmother circled Leonard three times until she stopped to face him again. She then gestured him to bend his face down toward her. Her hands pressed into his face like it was dough. She was mumbling something that no one but her could understand. "Now Leonard the next thing she is going to do is going be very uncomfortable and I am sorry."

"What is she going to-" His voice had went up at least an octave higher. The sight that Nyota saw was slightly funny, but also embarrassing. She had seen this happen many times in her family when anyone was going to get married. Her grandmother had cupped her hand on his groin. This was done so quickly that Leonard had to do a double take of what had just happened. Her grandmother gave a large smile.

"**Strong as bull!**" She shouted joyfully. Her grandmother then grabbed Leonard's face again to plant a kissed on his cheeks, then she when to Nyota and did the same. Nyota moved toward him and placed her hand on his arm.

"She likes you." She smiled.

"I can tell. What was that all about?"

"It tradition that the grandmother evaluates the men to see if they are worthy of their granddaughters and one of the things is that they grope the men to see if they can make a lot of children."

"That's medically impossible. You can't tell if you are going to have a lot of kids by the size of man's penis."

"Well explain that to her. She's been right with every male so far." Nyota giggled when he saw his face still in pain. "Do you need any ice?"

"That would be greatly appreciated." She had went over to where the glasses of champagne was being served to grab a cloth full of ice. Turning around she had bumped into a man.

"I'm sorry." She said realizing that she knocked his glass of champagne out of his hands. The man handsome features stunned her. It was the face that she had known all of her life. The same dark brown complexion, smooth bald head and black suit. "Tau?" She gasped. The man smiled widely at her.

"Nyota, I'm happy to see you." He said wickedly.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Your dad invited me. I know its odd for me to be here which it is, but I thought I would like to see the competition. What man stole your heart?" She pointed to Leonard who was now sitting down at a table.

"Are you serious? I can see that Startfleet does believe in diversity."

"What does that suppose to mean?"

"Come on, what are you playing at? There is no way that boy is even your type. You must be confused."

"How dare you! You think you know something about me, but you don't."

"I think I do. I've kept tracks on your Ny. I've read your latest accomplishments about the USS Enterprise. I see that you are a pretty dedicated officer, you took me by surprise. We all thought this space exploration crap was just a faze."

"Whatever! You are so full of it. I have other things to think about than dealing with you." When she turned around she felt Tau's hand grab her wrist.

"I'm not done talking to you." His grip hardened. She noticed that others were eying them, but not stopping what was happening. She tried to pull away, but it seemed impossible.

"Let go of me!" She commanded, but he refused. A hand pulled Tau away from Nyota. It was McCoy who pulled him away then stood in front of her.

"Don't you ever touch her again!" McCoy barked.

"Thanks to you I lost her."

"Yeah well you lost her before you even had her. You must be the Tau fellow that I've been hearing about. Look you better leave now or else."

"Or what?" Tau tone was getting dangerous.

"Do you want to see how fast I can land you the hospital?" McCoy's threat made Tau get closer to his face.

"Is that a threat?"

"That wasn't a threat, it was real question that you should be saying no to."

"Tau, I think its best that you do leave." A deep voice said loudly. Nyota looked to see her father standing tall over Tau. The last time she saw him his hair was less grey and much younger looking

"But Mr. Uhura you invited me." Tau said.

"Yes, I never wanted you lay a hand on my daughter in such a manner. " Her fathers tone got deadly.

"Fine, I'll go. I never wanted to here anyways." Pushing past Leonard, he stormed out to the house. The awkward tension seem to fade as the party resumed quietly. Mr. Uhura stood stiffly staring at his daughter. She moved toward him with an blank expression. There was a few moment of silence between them before Nyota spoke up.

"Hello Papa."

"Hello Nyota." She moved over toward him to give him a hug. Hugging him with all of this tension in the air caused her to feel awkward. Her father looked up from her to see McCoy who was standing behind her with his hand in his pocket. Her father took a few steps toward McCoy. If McCoy was intimidated it didn't show as her father stood over him.

"So you are the man that will be marrying my daughter." He said deeply.

"Yes, yes I am."

"We shall see." Her father turned around slowly and strolled toward the house. Nyota moved toward McCoy as she watched her father walk away.

"I never seen a man not back down from my father."

"Eh, he's not that scary. Besides are you ok when Tau grabbed you?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for stepping in like that."

"No problem. No man should be putting there hands on a woman like that."

"Come on lets go inside for a bit." They had went into the kitchen to find her mother talking to her sister. Nyota leaned against the kitchen island and placed her fingers to her temples.

"Ny, what's wrong?" Her sister asked.

"Why did papa invite Tau? He was so rude by grabbing me." Nyota's voice rose. "This is such an horrible night!" "He grabbed you!" Her sister asked. Nyota nodded.

"Yeah, but Leonard stopped him."

"Darling I am sorry that this night is going poorly. We can throw you another party and this time Tau won't be there." Her mother suggested.

"No! No more parties please. Leonard and I happy that some people care about us getting married, but honestly I rather have quiet time home with my family." She never felt so much unnecessary stress in her life. "You all can continue the party, I'm going to bed."

"Well alright. You go rest and I will see you in the morning." Her mother said. Nyota looked to Leonard.

"You go ahead. I will meet you upstairs." He said.

When she made it to her bedroom, she immediately took off her dress and got into her comfy shorts and tank top. She brushed her hair back and stuck it back in her usual ponytail. Moving to her favorite spot on her balcony she over looked at the party that continued in her back yard. Again she was getting second thoughts about this stupid plan. So far things were going alright, but how long could they keep this up without either of them spilling the beans? Footsteps broke her train of thought when she looked behind her she saw Leonard with two wine glasses in his hand. He took a seat next to her and handed her a glass.

"I figured you needed a stress reliever." He said.

"You got that right." She took a sip of the sweet champagne. "Thanks again for everything."

"It's the least I can do for my fiancé." He said jokingly.

"I hope you haven't been scared off yet."

"Nah, there's nothing here that I can't handle, well except for your grandmother groping me, that I can do with out."

"Done deal." She laughed. "I can't wait for my face to hit the pillow tonight. I must tell you that I talk in my sleep."

"Well hopefully it won't bother me too bad."

**A/N: So I know the Grandmother is crazy, but what family doesn't have some kind initiation for new family members?**


End file.
